I crossed the border into Georgia. The fourth former Soviet state of the trip. The border crossing was a bit of surprise. Turkey informed me that Greta had overstayed her welcome, apparently she was only allowed to stay in Turkey for 5 days, even though they made me buy and then verified and stamped my 40-day insurance policy on the way into the country. I was forced to go in and talk with the director to explain my misdeeds, and he assessed a fine of 210TL (about $50). I thought it was going to be a while lot more, for a while I thought they were going to impound Greta, so it could of been much worse. That being said, my primary thought was "corrupt bastards."
I am now in Bitumi, definitely a city on the rise. There is a whole new section of town with high rise hotels and apartment buildings dotted along the Black Sea. It is like a little Las Vegas, casinos, dancing fountains and night clubs included, but less campy. The business pouring in the money are primarily western (Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton, Carrefor, etc.). Western citizens are allowed to stay in Georgia for 365 days without a visa, the longest visa free stay I have come across in my travels (most are 60-90 days). The ATMs offer the local currency aswell as US Dollars. The Georgians have no remaining diplomatic ties with Russia after Putin, through no provocation, attacked Georgia in 2008. To this day, Russia is still occupying about 25 percent of the country. Georgia's open arms to the West seems to be a well thought out middle finger to Putin. They would love to be a member of the EU and NATO, and dispose of him for good.
The prices here are kind of insane. I am staying in a brand new, 9th floor, sea view, fully furnished apartment, for $24 a night. A place like this would go for $150-$250 a night in the US. There are apartment for sale signs on the numerous empty and under construction buildings, prices starting in the the $30,000 range. I have eaten six meals here, with prices ranging from 1 to 3 US dollars. My fully loaded pizza was $2.50, including a liter bottle of Diet Coke.
I have only made it 14 km into the country. It seems like this will be a interesting place to explore. Heading out to to the capital city of Tbilisi in the morning.
Stage Distance: 128 mi (206 km)
Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 23,317 mi (37,608 km)
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia
I am now in Bitumi, definitely a city on the rise. There is a whole new section of town with high rise hotels and apartment buildings dotted along the Black Sea. It is like a little Las Vegas, casinos, dancing fountains and night clubs included, but less campy. The business pouring in the money are primarily western (Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton, Carrefor, etc.). Western citizens are allowed to stay in Georgia for 365 days without a visa, the longest visa free stay I have come across in my travels (most are 60-90 days). The ATMs offer the local currency aswell as US Dollars. The Georgians have no remaining diplomatic ties with Russia after Putin, through no provocation, attacked Georgia in 2008. To this day, Russia is still occupying about 25 percent of the country. Georgia's open arms to the West seems to be a well thought out middle finger to Putin. They would love to be a member of the EU and NATO, and dispose of him for good.
The prices here are kind of insane. I am staying in a brand new, 9th floor, sea view, fully furnished apartment, for $24 a night. A place like this would go for $150-$250 a night in the US. There are apartment for sale signs on the numerous empty and under construction buildings, prices starting in the the $30,000 range. I have eaten six meals here, with prices ranging from 1 to 3 US dollars. My fully loaded pizza was $2.50, including a liter bottle of Diet Coke.
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| Building Boom in Bitumi |
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| New City, Old Pier |
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| The Royal Dutch Shelf Company (the lessor known and imaginary arm of the Royal Dutch Shell Company) |
Stage Distance: 128 mi (206 km)
Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 23,317 mi (37,608 km)
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia
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